Chapter Text
Because Erik is the very definition of a kind and caring older brother, he doesn’t bother Wilhelm before noon. And then only by text.
Erik: How are you doing?
Wilhelm: Elephants.
Erik: Elephants?
Wilhelm: Elephants are marching through my head.
Erik: I take it your initiation was that good?
Wilhelm: It was wild.
His brother adds a simple smiling emoji, which looks earnest and not wild at all. It gives his message a slightly ironic touch.
Erik: So you liked it?
Wilhelm: Sure.
Erik: Cool. How about a video call?
Wilhelm: Not now. Pretty sure talking hurts.
Erik: Fair enough. Get better soon.
Erik looks at his phone and tries to read between the lines, tries to decipher any implicit meaning. He hopes that Wilhelm actually had a great time and is not just putting up a front. He can never be sure these days. Well, years, if he wants to be entirely honest... in the past years Wilhelm has withdrawn into himself, has fortified his outer shell, has become silent where he used to talk freely.
In short, he has become what their mother calls a “difficult person”. Largely polite and well-behaved in public (recent incidents notwithstanding), but prone to spells of moodiness and irritation behind closed doors, the causes of which are rarely if ever apparent.
Erik has made it his mission to call Wilhelm regularly and check up on him. The whole family seems to be in agreement that he is in a tumultuous and dangerous phase, that he could easily be steered in the wrong direction and cause perhaps unforeseen levels of PR damage, but Erik wonders whether his parents truly grasp how sensitive this life phase is for Wilhelm. It is a gut feeling, an inkling, that tells him to watch out for his little brother. Now more than ever.
Hillerska helped Erik to find his place and accept it, and the school can do the same for Wilhelm. He’s sure of it.
---
“How do you like it?” Erik asks his brother after he has spent a couple of days at his new school.
Wilhelm shrugs smoothly, his face guarded and hidden half in shadows. “It could be worse.”
This is a more enthusiastic endorsement than Erik expected to hear. “Yeah?”
“I guess you could have shipped me off to Siberia. This is a tiny, tiny bit better.”
“Very funny, Wilhelm. Tell me about your classes? And about your classmates?”
The classes are okay, the classmates are alright. Erik is entirely aware that he gets a sanitized version that has been scrubbed clean from any personal thoughts and feelings, as his brother is evidently not in a mood to share. But Erik is less interested in the words than in their delivery anyway, and what he hears, he finds relieving. Wilhelm might not be acclimated to Hillerska just yet, but it doesn’t appear likely that he will run off and join the Foreign Legion in the near future. One probably couldn’t ask for more at this point.
At the end of the call, Erik tells him: “Hillerska is a great place. You’ll make friends that last you a lifetime, I guarantee it.”
To his surprise, this statement makes Wilhelm break into a genuine smile. “We’ll see about that,” he says.
---
The next few calls are similarly uninformative, at least on the surface. The classes are alright, the food is okay, sure, the classmates are nice, no one bullies a prince, except August, August is the bane of his existence, August sucks. Erik thinks he detects a change in demeanor though, thinks that Wilhelm sounds more upbeat, livelier, more present.
With a jolt of shock Erik realizes that his brother might be – just might be – happy.
Some things are only illuminated by contrast, and Erik thinks he understands in this second, with some distance, how unhappy Wilhelm previously had been.
---
“You met someone.”
Wilhelm doesn’t deny it, which is as good as a confirmation.
“Hello?”
“Yes, okay, but – Erik, I don’t think we’re a couple or anything. I don’t know what it is. Can we just…”
“I get it, I get it,” Erik rushes to say. “You don’t have to tell me anything. In fact, I don’t want to hear any details.” He tells his brother to enjoy it while he can, because God knows everyone will get involved as soon as they hear the faintest rumor of this fledgling romance.
Erik will think back fondly on that call for a long time, particularly on Wilhelm’s equally pitiful and hilarious attempt at making studying – studying, out of all things! – seem like the reason why he wants to remain at school during Parents’ Weekend.
He has met someone.
Erik feels like doing something idiotic, like punching the air or doing a little victory dance. This is going to be great for Wilhelm, he can feel it.
---
A couple of days later, Erik calls Wilhelm again. It’s a slow Tuesday afternoon and he is dying to hear about the promising situation that is developing in his little brother’s life. The text messages have been far and few in between and not nearly enough to satisfy his curiosity.
Wilhelm doesn’t respond when he first calls him. The second call an hour later is also fruitless. The third one he finally picks up.
“You’re really difficult to get a hold of,” Erik scolds him.
“Yeah… Now is not really a good time. I’m busy.” Wilhelm is in his room, his hair slightly tousled and his eyes bright. Concern suddenly clouds his eyes. “Is something the matter? You called three times.”
“Something is absolutely the matter,” Erik says with his best stern-older-brother voice. He is gratified to see that Wilhelm responds to it quickly, sitting more upright. With a softer voice, Erik says, “I wanted to inquire about your whole crush situation.”
There is an abrupt sound in the background, some clattering, and Erik can see Wilhelm’s eyes shift for the briefest moment. He looks panicked before he wrestles his features under control again.
“Wait! Wait!” Erik yells. “Are you kidding me? Is there someone in the room with you?”
“No!” Wilhelm laughs uneasily. “Absolutely not. Anyway, it is getting late. I’ve got a test tomorrow morning, so-”
Erik snorts, briefly burying his face in his hand. “Even if you learn nothing else in that school, please, Wilhelm, please learn to be a better liar! It’s an essential life skill.”
He gets a frustrated grunt and a middle finger in return, then the call disconnects.
Erik laughs to himself, giddy with joy. His little brother is apparently having the time of his life at Hillerska. While he has hoped for that outcome, he realizes how worried he has truly been – worried that everything he had told Wille had been nothing but bullshit, that Wille would not be able to adapt, would come to resent him forever. Is that how parents usually feel? Genuinely surprised that their disciplinary measures actually worked?
Later, at dinner, his mother asks him how Wilhelm is doing.
“He is doing fine,” Erik says, unable to stifle a grin. “Better than fine, even.”
“Really?” Kristina raises a quizzical eyebrow. “How so?”
Erik carefully considers his next words. “I believe he has found some friends, and the community spirit of Hillerska must rub off on him … his entire demeanor has changed. He’s upbeat, optimistic. Even – dare I say it – happy.”
“That’s fantastic news,” Ludvig says. “I knew he would find himself.” As always, he is eager to believe a streak of good fortune when it presents itself.
His wife is far more skeptical. She does look a little pleased, but all she says is “hmm”, and then asks Erik to pass her the bread rolls.
---
Some of his brotherly duties are more burdensome than others, but Erik knows what needs to be done.
Erik: When are you free to talk? Let’s talk soon.
As before, it takes some time before he gets a response.
Wilhelm: Fine. Monday evening works.
Wilhelm: But don’t think you’re entitled to know everything about my life, because you’re not.
Erik: I know, I don’t think that.
His little brother can be so damn irritable. Teenage hormones are no joke.
When the video call connects on Monday, Wilhelm looks proper and dignified, not a hair out of place.
“I assume you’re alone?” Erik asks.
Wilhelm breaks into a little grin. “Fuck you.”
“Come on, Wilhelm, I’m happy for you. When you’re happy, I’m happy.”
Weirdly enough, his brother looks a little thrown by that moment, more insecure than such a statement should warrant. The expression passes quickly, however. “Erik… thank you. But – I don’t know what you have in mind – but I really don’t want to talk about my relationship right now.”
So it has reached a relationship status? My, my, things are progressing quickly. “Lucky for you, neither do I.”
Wilhelm looks wary, sighing. “Just spit it out. What do you want to talk about then?”
“Well… you know, as your older brother, I have certain duties…”
“Yes…?”
“Some of them more unpleasant than others…”
“You’re scaring me. You’re actually scaring me.”
Erik laughs. “As I should!” Then, solemnly: “I want you to have fun and I also want you to protect yourself.”
Now his little brother looks mortified. “Don’t tell me you want to have that talk .”
“I’m afraid so.” Erik knows he can consider himself lucky that the call isn’t immediately disconnected.
„I’ve already had it!” Wilhelm protests. “If you think I’m having it again, you’re a lunatic. No way. I want no part in this conversation. None whatsoever.”
“Listen, I don’t want to talk about sex, I want to talk about protection ,” Erik says with insistence. “And I don’t like it any more than you do, alright?”
Wilhelm brushes a few errand strands of hair out of his face. “I’ve also had that talk. Condoms. I’m not supposed to get anyone pregnant.”
“Yep. It’s really important not to get a girl into that situation.” Not that that is a terribly likely event, in Erik’s opinion. But it needs to be said. “Always bring your own condoms and always safely dispose of them yourself. You never have sex without a condom. Never. Not once. This is crucial. Got it?”
Wilhelm rolls his eyes, but nods.
“I’m going to send you a big box of condoms. Saves you the hassle of getting them yourself.”
A groan. “Are you serious?”
“I am,” Erik says sternly. “Any packages I send will not be searched, so don’t worry about questions why you’re hoarding a warehouse worth of condoms. And hey, they are not just to prevent pregnancies, right? They’ll also protect you from sexually transmitted diseases.”
Wilhelm sighs. “Believe it or not, I am aware of that.”
“Catch feelings, not STDs, is my motto.”
A loud, desperate groan follows. “Erik! No!”
In hindsight, Erik will probably find humor in the situation. At least that is his only hope. “I just have to know we’re on the same page. Listen, I don’t care who you have sex with, as long as you wear a condom, you’re safe, and you and your partner are having fun.”
“Cool. Cool. Is this talk over?”
“Not quite yet.” Erik exhales. “There’s one more thing I would ask you to be careful about. Any relationship of yours is going to be tabloid fodder, there’s no way around it. An environment like Hillerska will offer more privacy than many other places would, but there might still be leaks.”
“They care about you, not me,” Wilhelm says.
“They cared plenty about your fight though, didn’t they?”
Wilhelm looks down.
“You grew up in the public eye, without a doubt there will be interest in your first relationship. It’s unavoidable. All I’m saying is… there is no real privacy unless you’re in a room that you know is completely safe. If you’re outside, on the school grounds, and you hold hands… that might be as good as an official announcement.”
Now Wilhelm looks miserable. “What, am I supposed to sneak around for all eternity?”
Erik shakes his head. “No. I’m not saying that. If you’re sure about your relationship and you want to go ahead, you can certainly do so. It’s not like we don’t have a PR protocol to fall back on. It can just be a lot of pressure, especially if your relationship is new and has not been tested yet. It’s like meeting each other’s parents, only on a much bigger and scarier stage.”
This seems to get through to Wilhelm, judging by his expression.
Well, it seems Erik’s duty is done for today, and thank God for that. “I really am happy for you, you know that? That’s the most important thing for me. Everything else pales in comparison.”
Wilhelm inclines his head, nodding slightly. But he does not seem fully convinced.